The nation last week recorded 338 new cases of severe flu with complications, 15 of which resulted in death, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Since July last year, 1,109 severe flu cases have been reported in Taiwan, and 84 of them have been fatal, the agency said.
The CDC said that in 95 percent of the cases, the patients had not been vaccinated against the flu.
During the three-day 228 Memorial Day weekend, more than 12,000 people sought medical attention for the flu, the agency said.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center director Liu Ting-ping (劉定萍) said the influenza epidemic in Taiwan has been on the wane after peaking on Feb. 9.
The number of severe flu cases peaked on Feb. 22, but is also now on the decline, Liu said.
The H1N1 influenza A strain remains the most prevalent variant of the flu virus this year, she said.
Separately, experts at a meeting said that there was no need to set national guidelines for suspending classes in situations where influenza is affecting schools.
There is no evidence that suspending classes would help contain the flu epidemic, which is already on the wane, agency Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said.
Furthermore, most of the severe flu cases and deaths have been in the over-50 age group, rather than among children, he said.
Some studies showed that suspending classes would increase schoolchildren’s contact with their communities and families, which could result in a 27 percent spike in the incidence of the flu, Chou said.
As of Saturday last week, about 71 classes in 50 schools nationwide had implemented suspensions of classes due to cases of influenza, statistics from the Ministry of Education showed.
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
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